Bond Cama Are you paying attention? The guy with the knife won all except a few of their exchanges, and won quite clearly, darting in and leaving several killing blows.
lol the knife strategy that sometimes worked vs spear is kinda hilarious to see: "Stay back, Stay back, Stay Back, CLOSE DISTANCE LIKE A MADMAN, Stabstabstabstabstabstab"
Its really hard to grab a spear but in such situation like that the spearman is better off to simply kick, grapple or else stab him with his own dagger. In a real fight, that could mean the difference between life or death, literally.
Cool video. Would have been nice to see some slo-mo replays of hits. Thought the knife guy was going to get totally trounced, but he did much better than I was expecting.
Admit it, the bowie knife was just for fun :P I appreciate this video, it shows very clearly the advantages of the spear, and shows that without a shield its really hard to defend yourself. I have to things to say about this: -All the people using swords were stuck in their sword vs sword techniques and non of them tried being more flexible, mainly trying to parry with the sword in all cases instead of dodging or perhaps grabbing. -Would be very nice if you show how a shield comes in to play in those scenarios.( now that they have a good defense, and that the spear is one handed instead of 2)
Except for the Bowie guy, i wonder why people didn't seem to try to grab the spear. Many times they managed to get past the spear tip, but few actually tried to grab it. Especially the longsword fighters seem to have their hands glued to the sword. And its not that i do not know that the long sword loses effectiveness if you only use one hand on it, but there were so many opportunities missed where they could have bound the spear by simply grabbing it.
Probably because they felt that the sword was long enough where they could strike successfully without having to grapple, with a knife, you have a lot fewer options and barely any reach compared to a sword so neutralizing the spear is a must for the most part
I agree that the swordsmen should be trying to grab more - you see that the sabre fencer (Martin) did try it a few times and sort of succeeded. It's harder said than done though, against this very light and quick type of spear - it's easier against heavier polearms like partisans or bayonets.
I am not saying it is easy to do, but from the video they missed quite a few opportunities in which they could have done it, if they had just let go of the bottom of their hilt. My problem is more with the lack of attempt. When Martin (the fencer, thanks Matt) did it, usually he got a tap on the arm with the spear, which would injure him, but not mortally. I think its a small price to pay to bind your opponents weapon and finish them off. I mean, otherwise they usually lost.
I guess in some instances once you've gotten past the tip its probably better to just attack. Its a give or take sort of thing of whether you want to finish the fight quickly or take time to secure your position.
Significantly so. It might be different if youre used to spears, but I notice a tendency to treat the opponent's spear as another sword, so you spend your whole time in measure and the only one in danger is you.
If there was actual spear it would be scary as heck to close the distance, if you weren't already in motion to close the distance the spearman can just back off and give another thrust and it will even more dangerous because you can't dodge when running toward.
One thing I should mention for context is that these fights were filmed across an evening and some of the fighters have relatively little experience either with the spear, or at fighting against a spear. As the evening went on people generally got better at both (which of course slightly cancels out!). Generally the spear loses a lot of advantage when backed into a smaller space, but as you can see, even in confined spaces the spear can do okay, and of course getting the spearman into a confined space is very difficult, especially if the spearman fights offensively. Generally the rule for the swordsman or knifeman is to close distance, but doing so without getting skewered on the way in is quite difficult. You'll also notice that when the spearman gets hit, it is very often on their lead hand/arm, which is most exposed.
and that weakness of the lead hand getting hit is prevented with a short shield, with a small little 6ft spear your better off using the spear and shield method like the Greeks did.
Simply this was terrific. To all who participated ... awesome ! I really enjoyed it. You really get to see the strengths and weaknesses of each weapon. Critical distance and own your space. This exercise only impresses upon me that ancient warriors relied on “defence in depth”. Spear first. Sword second. Knife third. You get a real sense of Roman Centurion tactics. Toss your spear. Close the distance and stab with your sword. Use the knife in ever closer quarters. Ditto for the Samurai : Sogu; tachi: wakazashi: tango. If there is ever a case for bayonets on rifles this is it ! Keep up the great work !
wow it almost looks like the spear was more effective 2v1 than it was 1v1. Seems to do pretty poor against a short range weapon, knife, over a longer ranged sword. Ironic. Incredible to see how fast a knife fighter can close on the spearman after a miss jab or parry.
i think the knife being good came down to user skill. There's other videos on youtube (look up HEMA instructor nick thomas) of longsword vs spear, and most of the longsword hits came from one handed thrusts
But it's not ironic, I think that it actually makes sense. With a shorter weapon you must close more to the spearman, so you must do more pressure, while with a sword you don't need to close that much, and also a sword at a very short range turns ineffective as a spear, so you aren't doing so much pressure, and the spearman can counter you or escape more easily.
The spearman's inexperieince was really showing with these long, obvious thrusts that were deflected time and again. You'll see (or at least my impression was) that in a confined space, the spear actually did much better. The reason being that the inexperienced user changed tactics to much faster, shorter, harder to deflect thrusts. That gave the swordsman a ton of problems trying to close in.
AlwaysAmazingSlyWit Yeah, in my experience the best way to get pas the head of a pole is to draw them into an extended thrust, preferably a lunge, then avoid, then check the pole and close as they try to recover. You can run faster than they can shift their weight back to be able to move again. Lunging locks you to the ground and should not be attempted with such a short spear. You don't even have to grab the spear to control it, just push it offline and ground it if you can.
What I find very interesting is that "real life" combat isn't graceful and choreographed. I mean like, when you only ever see sword combat in games and movies you forget that, like in this video, actual combat is very sporadic and clunky if that makes sense? Like the guy with the knife trying and failing repeatedly to grab the spear shaft, if it was a game or movie he'd have grabbed it first time and dispatched the other guy swiftly or something.
Why do you find it so interesting? It seems natural to me. Real combat doesn't have to be clunky and sporadic, it can be graceful and elegant, but only if the fighters forego combat effectiveness to do so. I twirl quite a lot when sparring, particularly with one-handed weapons. Since my experience is so low, that whenever I do go and do these things I try to be as posed and elegant as possible, to try and avoid looking like an inexperienced amateur.
While not as *pretty* you can still see when someone is trained. Matt's technique with the bowie shows this--herky-jerky as it may look, every move and feint had purpose, and he committed to the attack with full intent and no hesitation. Fun to watch.
We are probably the two who have the most experience at fighting against (and with) spears. Most of the other guys have not done much with or against spears at all.
scholagladiatoria Matt, just wanted to say that was some VERY impressive knife work. It goes to show that skill can overcome the advantages of a dissimilar weapon.
you should put a counter meter to show how many points each person has, it's hard to see exactly when contact was made and when it was parried last second. i still enjoyed the video through
Damn Schola you are good. The Bowie vs Spear shows how careful you are, those dodges even through you failed some you tried to force it. You are a Rogue.
I'm actually more surprised about how little the advantage of the weapon counts against skill and experience... Matt and the one guy with the backsword were clearly superior fighters compared to their opponents, but I'd have assumed the range of the spear would even it out more.
Something I've noticed with 2 vs 1 sparring is that usually it seems like the team of two is less aware than the team of one. It's almost as if people subconsciously let their guard down more when they have teammates, because they don't feel like the fight is riding on their actions alone. I suppose it also allows a sort of "feint" in the sense that someone might pretend to not be paying attention to a second attacker, and then suddenly strike at them. Just a theory. But it definitely seems like practicing to fight as a group against a single opponent is an important part of training, despite the fact that it could appear simple at first glance.
Excellent job everyone, but particular praise for the knife man. Good job of breaking through the guard and taking control! So many people don't have the intestinal fortitude and timing to do that.
This video more than anything else SG has done (and you do good videos!) has convinced me that HEMA needs to be a part of my life. Now to find a club in Tokyo...
As a professional orchestra musician (who's also interested in HEMA), I find it great when you use some nice ol' Tchaikovsky (1812 Ouverture, correct?) as background music. Small request, though, could you write the name of the piece/composer in the description in future videos? Unless I somehow missed the "credit" during the video? Anyway, thanks for the awesome videos! Big fan.
This reminds me of a convention I had gone to years ago, in which one of the panels included amateur boffing. A group of 20 or so from the crowd who payed a small fee were entered int a tournament and offered padded practice swords to compete with; but one rather cheeky individual entered the tournament with a 6 1/2 foot long spear that he had crafted himself. Being that everybody competing (myself included) were complete amateurs, nobody stood any sort of a chance against him. It'd be all of three seconds in the ring and he'd simply stick you in the side before you could close the gap. It felt particularly unfair! I suppose in hindsight, it was something like bringing a gun to a knife fight.
I really did like the "respawning" that they did during the 2-v-1 section. Some of the pairs seemed to work better together than others. And as you have said before, I think, context, context, context
+devonmac95 I think knife would be in even more trouble there. Generally, knives are much better at parrying thrusts than cuts and the longsworder still has more than enough of a reach advantage.
+devonmac95 No, we did dozend of fights, even a 10cm shorter blade means dying most of the time. Knive vs Longsword would be a >5 % chance of surviving. And sometimes we do some silly stuff like Katana vs 2meter Bidenhänder haha. But yes, it would be funny to watch.
Good video, Matt! There's little HEMA spear-fighting on CZcams, but this video sets a good example :-) May I ask you, how long and thick was the spear? I find that those which are even slightly longer and heavier change the fight dynamics dramatically, usually in favour of the spear-fighter (especially against multiple opponents) - up to a certain point when they become only useful in battle formations, of course. Besides, did you allow for strikes with the spear-head as well? I'm quite sure you know all about the devastating power of a heavy impact with a sharp and pointy pole-head, so I'm just curious why there were none in the video.
Hexates We didn't use strikes with these spears because we are simulating a typical small spearhead, which is essentially a short spike. It doesn't really do any more damage than hitting something with just the stick - it doesn't even weigh anything notable. In any case, generally if you're hitting with such a spear it's because you've lost the line to thrust and so that swordsman is just about to chop or thrust you - in that moment it's more wise to try and gain distance or otherwise defend, rather than trying to hit them with a blow that will not stop them.
Excellent demo there, goes to show never bring a knife to an unarmored spear fight, a good spearman will win almost every time. Given they were unexperienced they did a good job. Well done all involved
Love how you put music over the intro emblem! You should try to do it more often, it's rather weird to see just the emblem with no audio at the start of a video.
Thanks for sharing video,had fun watching. One question,the guy with knife is he fencer since youth or reflexes came with experience?(i ask because i heard usually when someone fencing they study it while still young to develop reflexes and technique,correct me if im wrong)
Could you please do a video about Dagger vs Dagger footwork, and/or weapons footwork in general (could only find some on broadsword among the videos)? How much of for example todays FMA (Arnis/Kali/Eskrima) triangle footwork is actually valid, and how much of Musashi's old saying of "having no footwork as footwork" is maybe more accurate?
One thing I personally don't really like about these sparring videos is that often the actions are really fast and it's hard to understand what's going on. It would be amazing if you could do like a commentary of the fight, maybe showing the action in slow motion and explaining moves, parries etc.. It will be much more interesting! Of course this is just my opinion. I love this channel, I check it every day :-D Cheers
Interesting that the knife fared the best. The guy may have had superior skills and tactics but I think there is something inherent about the weapon too. It makes you give up on any kind of attack apart from one where you can move past the head of the spear, possibly taking control of the shaft with your free hand, and then close in. With the sword they kept trying for sword strikes from afar and kept getting caught by the spear while lunging. But due to the sheer range disparity, the knife forces you into pure dodge mode until you can somehow step over the spear or otherwise get around it. And dodging is certainly possible since the spear's points of attack are fairly limited since it can't cut or slash from the sides. Obviously a spear would probably still most often defeat a bowie knife, but it's an interesting exercise in psychology. You could adopt the same strategy with a sword but it's less instinctual. But now take the scenario of sword vs knife and that strategy doesn't work anymore for the knife at all. The sword would dominate since dodging would become much harder for the knife wielder. Almost like rock paper scissors. Spear beats sword. Knife beats spear. Sword beats knife.
It was quite educative, specially due to the various levels of experience against spears. I would have liked to see what kind of approach they would have come up with if it was more than one spear, as that should prove quite more difficult to approach. But I guess you need more spears for that.
I'm a little surprised that only the knife wielding fighter actually tried to grab the spear and just turn it into a clinch. of course, with a knife one does not have to many options, but it seems reasonable to do the same when using a sword. Good Video, Thanks!
Three quick observations and questions based on them: One:. Would the confined space exercise not be better performed with the spear in a corner rather than in centre room against a wall? Two: Since spears are a battlefield weapon, would it not also be useful to try two spear wielders side by side or back to back to simulate having comrades in a skirmish or battle? Third and final: one skill taught in modern self defense classes to engage multiple opponents is stacking, or moving to try and keep your opponents single file relative to you. from the previous post I understand some of these students lack spear experience, but is a historical equivalent of "stacking" discussed at all in fencing manuals you've come across?
scholagladiatoria what materials do you guys use to construct your spears? My club has been trying a few things out but cant find a safe version to use.
I think in your quarterstaff vs sword video, you mentioned that a single man with a staff fended off three men with swords (rapiers I think being specific). I'd like to see your group try something similar, if at all possible.
Do you think the best weapon for a LOTR Ranger would be an ax, a mace, a spear, or a sword? As far as a ranged weapon would a long bow, re-curved short bow, or a crossbow serve him best? Would you use a shield in that situation? What type of armor would be best? I would assume the ranger would be on patrol. Carrying his own kit. Fighting as an individual or small party vs individuals or multiple opponents. Thank you for your time. TJ
Nick, funny but I don't think the readers and fan base would find that plausible. I would personally chose a spear and a strong re-curved (Mongol type) bow. Hands free for other things than holding a shield all the time.
The dagger vs spear fights were quite interesting. It really exposes the disadvantage of having a pointy bit at the end of a stick; the pointy bit is the only really threatening part if you're dedicated to jabbing. Soon as it's grabbed, the spearman loses all ability to fight back, and grabbing a spear isn't all that difficult. If you can parry a punch, you can grab a spear. Of course, give a staff fighter a pointy bit, and it becomes a whole different ball game.
Now, now I know context plays its part here as always. But might it be advisable for a spear wielder to let go of his weapon once the opponent with a shorter weapon successfully closes, gets past the point and grabs the shaft? I mean the spear shaft, of course. At that close range having a longer weapon is hardly advantageous, better of trying to control the weapon arm of the opponent methinks? Just curious is all. Great video Matt, as always.^^
Great stuff :) Out of interest, what are you using for the spear? (Shaft and tip) I've been thinking of dong some spear stuff with my lads and am looking at options for relatively safe weapons... No to go and listen to the 1812 again...
Hugh Kerrigan A rattan pole with a little bit of insulation foam gaffer taped to the end. I have considered removing the foam when we are using steel fencing gear, but people have begged me not to, because despite these being rattan (which absorb a lot more force than ash) they can still hit very hard, especially to the head or chest.
I noticed in many spear videos, the spear users (me included) tend to move back and forth a lot similar to the spear thrust movement. Is this on purpose ? won't moving to the sides help in any way? I'd also like to ask if the way wushu use their spears is of any use (using the blunt back side as a staff and similar) when those without the spear come any close?
Very cool stuff! Since spear generally isn't used for dueling and is more of a battlefield weapon, would it have been more or less beneficial for the spearman if he'd had a shield? He'd lose some reach, but gain better defense. Wouldn't this, overall, be better?
Bruhmm2112 We find that spear two-handed is roughly equal to spear and shield. When you use the spear one-handed it becomes much slower at moving from one place to another - you don't have the leverage of two arms anymore.
If someone were going to jab the spear in, wouldn't it be ideal to try and pull it in towards you when you anticipate a jab and hopefully bring in it's wielder, or is that harder than it seems?
one thing I noticed is that a lot of the people that fought with the spear would release the spear with their lead hand when making thrusts, which lead to them losing control of the weapon and often nearly resulted in a strike against them. What they should have been doing is what the dude that was fighting 2v1 was doing and sliding the weapon through their lead hand, that way they don't lose control and as the enemy closes they can easily draw the weapon back to shorten it and make it easier to defend in close range.
Thought that there was absolutely no way the knife fighter was going to be able to block any attacks, but then he does just that. Then I see it's Matt. Well that makes sense then :P
That does look like a relatively short spear to me, is its length based upon the length of any specific type of historical spear? Also, is using the shaft as a striking weapon at close range a viable technique?
Interesting to see just how quick the spear is for changing direction of attack, especially swapping between attackers. It seemed like quite a few of the hits were because people just didn't expect the spear to be able to do a 90 degree change of attack so fast. He was fending off one guy then suddenly swapped to the other, got a hit and then immediately back to the first before they could take advantage.
Valkanna .Nublet Yes, this is what I've been trying to explain with words in my previous videos, but demonstration hopefully makes it more explicit. The spear is simply awesome.
That guy with the knife was quite impresive.
it'd be less impressive if that spear had a real tip on it
@@lmperialSoldier Guy with spear also would be less impressive if second guy had real knife
@Bond Cama guy with a spear also would have died very, very quickly.
Bond Cama Are you paying attention? The guy with the knife won all except a few of their exchanges, and won quite clearly, darting in and leaving several killing blows.
Bond Cama Neither people with numerous stab wounds in their neck. What’s your point?
lol the knife strategy that sometimes worked vs spear is kinda hilarious to see: "Stay back, Stay back, Stay Back, CLOSE DISTANCE LIKE A MADMAN, Stabstabstabstabstabstab"
Its really hard to grab a spear but in such situation like that the spearman is better off to simply kick, grapple or else stab him with his own dagger. In a real fight, that could mean the difference between life or death, literally.
In reality both may end up with fatal hits
Cool video. Would have been nice to see some slo-mo replays of hits.
Thought the knife guy was going to get totally trounced, but he did much better than I was expecting.
Knife guy was me :-)
scholagladiatoria i knew it!!
scholagladiatoria Holy shit. Remind me not to try and mug you.
scholagladiatoria
Seriously Matt, AMAZING knife work.
scholagladiatoria I thought so!
What we learned: if you have a spear, use plated/chainmail arm protection.
kingpopaul It goes the other way though - if the swordsmen had been armoured then the spear would not have been anywhere near so advantaged.
Of course Mat, but the swordsmen would need full body protection, and not just local protection, unlike the spearman.
kingpopaul True.
Admit it, the bowie knife was just for fun :P
I appreciate this video, it shows very clearly the advantages of the spear, and shows that without a shield its really hard to defend yourself. I have to things to say about this:
-All the people using swords were stuck in their sword vs sword techniques and non of them tried being more flexible, mainly trying to parry with the sword in all cases instead of dodging or perhaps grabbing.
-Would be very nice if you show how a shield comes in to play in those scenarios.( now that they have a good defense, and that the spear is one handed instead of 2)
Except for the Bowie guy, i wonder why people didn't seem to try to grab the spear. Many times they managed to get past the spear tip, but few actually tried to grab it. Especially the longsword fighters seem to have their hands glued to the sword. And its not that i do not know that the long sword loses effectiveness if you only use one hand on it, but there were so many opportunities missed where they could have bound the spear by simply grabbing it.
Probably because they felt that the sword was long enough where they could strike successfully without having to grapple, with a knife, you have a lot fewer options and barely any reach compared to a sword so neutralizing the spear is a must for the most part
I agree that the swordsmen should be trying to grab more - you see that the sabre fencer (Martin) did try it a few times and sort of succeeded. It's harder said than done though, against this very light and quick type of spear - it's easier against heavier polearms like partisans or bayonets.
I am not saying it is easy to do, but from the video they missed quite a few opportunities in which they could have done it, if they had just let go of the bottom of their hilt. My problem is more with the lack of attempt.
When Martin (the fencer, thanks Matt) did it, usually he got a tap on the arm with the spear, which would injure him, but not mortally. I think its a small price to pay to bind your opponents weapon and finish them off. I mean, otherwise they usually lost.
Kajan451 Like I said, I agree they should try to grab and close more.
I guess in some instances once you've gotten past the tip its probably better to just attack. Its a give or take sort of thing of whether you want to finish the fight quickly or take time to secure your position.
they seem hesitant to attempt to close the distance after a parried or missed strike from the spear. easier said than done i suppose
Significantly so. It might be different if youre used to spears, but I notice a tendency to treat the opponent's spear as another sword, so you spend your whole time in measure and the only one in danger is you.
If there was actual spear it would be scary as heck to close the distance, if you weren't already in motion to close the distance the spearman can just back off and give another thrust and it will even more dangerous because you can't dodge when running toward.
One thing I should mention for context is that these fights were filmed across an evening and some of the fighters have relatively little experience either with the spear, or at fighting against a spear. As the evening went on people generally got better at both (which of course slightly cancels out!). Generally the spear loses a lot of advantage when backed into a smaller space, but as you can see, even in confined spaces the spear can do okay, and of course getting the spearman into a confined space is very difficult, especially if the spearman fights offensively. Generally the rule for the swordsman or knifeman is to close distance, but doing so without getting skewered on the way in is quite difficult. You'll also notice that when the spearman gets hit, it is very often on their lead hand/arm, which is most exposed.
From my experience, fighting a spear is best done with two sword, one long and another shorter. One parry the spear, the other strike.
Martel Théberge Pierre-André
and with a scutum its even easier x)
and that weakness of the lead hand getting hit is prevented with a short shield, with a small little 6ft spear your better off using the spear and shield method like the Greeks did.
Very cool getting your colleagues (students?) involved in one of your videos. I really enjoyed the knife portion.
***** If in doubt: behind the camera
Matt is too OP. Excellent fighting.
Simply this was terrific. To all who participated ... awesome ! I really enjoyed it.
You really get to see the strengths and weaknesses of each weapon. Critical distance and own your space.
This exercise only impresses upon me that ancient warriors relied on “defence in depth”. Spear first. Sword second. Knife third.
You get a real sense of Roman Centurion tactics. Toss your spear. Close the distance and stab with your sword. Use the knife in ever closer quarters. Ditto for the Samurai : Sogu; tachi: wakazashi: tango.
If there is ever a case for bayonets on rifles this is it !
Keep up the great work !
wow it almost looks like the spear was more effective 2v1 than it was 1v1. Seems to do pretty poor against a short range weapon, knife, over a longer ranged sword. Ironic.
Incredible to see how fast a knife fighter can close on the spearman after a miss jab or parry.
i think the knife being good came down to user skill. There's other videos on youtube (look up HEMA instructor nick thomas) of longsword vs spear, and most of the longsword hits came from one handed thrusts
But it's not ironic, I think that it actually makes sense. With a shorter weapon you must close more to the spearman, so you must do more pressure, while with a sword you don't need to close that much, and also a sword at a very short range turns ineffective as a spear, so you aren't doing so much pressure, and the spearman can counter you or escape more easily.
The spearman's inexperieince was really showing with these long, obvious thrusts that were deflected time and again. You'll see (or at least my impression was) that in a confined space, the spear actually did much better. The reason being that the inexperienced user changed tactics to much faster, shorter, harder to deflect thrusts. That gave the swordsman a ton of problems trying to close in.
***** Yeah, I do believe that was Matt using the Bowie.
AlwaysAmazingSlyWit
Yeah, in my experience the best way to get pas the head of a pole is to draw them into an extended thrust, preferably a lunge, then avoid, then check the pole and close as they try to recover. You can run faster than they can shift their weight back to be able to move again. Lunging locks you to the ground and should not be attempted with such a short spear. You don't even have to grab the spear to control it, just push it offline and ground it if you can.
What I find very interesting is that "real life" combat isn't graceful and choreographed. I mean like, when you only ever see sword combat in games and movies you forget that, like in this video, actual combat is very sporadic and clunky if that makes sense? Like the guy with the knife trying and failing repeatedly to grab the spear shaft, if it was a game or movie he'd have grabbed it first time and dispatched the other guy swiftly or something.
Why do you find it so interesting? It seems natural to me. Real combat doesn't have to be clunky and sporadic, it can be graceful and elegant, but only if the fighters forego combat effectiveness to do so. I twirl quite a lot when sparring, particularly with one-handed weapons. Since my experience is so low, that whenever I do go and do these things I try to be as posed and elegant as possible, to try and avoid looking like an inexperienced amateur.
Just like street fighting doesn't look like professional boxing, and professional boxing doesn't look like movie boxing.
While not as *pretty* you can still see when someone is trained. Matt's technique with the bowie shows this--herky-jerky as it may look, every move and feint had purpose, and he committed to the attack with full intent and no hesitation. Fun to watch.
dajolaw A good point well made :)
+The Light That Paints They aren't the most athletic combatants either.
Brutal knife work, mate :D
I really liked the Saber/Backsword part (and the Bowie Knife), well done!
We are probably the two who have the most experience at fighting against (and with) spears. Most of the other guys have not done much with or against spears at all.
scholagladiatoria Can't say I'm surprised I had no idea what to do when I was sparring against a spear user my first time
scholagladiatoria Matt, just wanted to say that was some VERY impressive knife work. It goes to show that skill can overcome the advantages of a dissimilar weapon.
matt's skill with knife is impressive. very enjoyable to watch
Nice job with the knife, Matt, you make it look easy :P
As expected, your students have good skills. I like to watch these sparrings with different weapons.
Tsajkovski - 1812 Overture
Indeed :-)
spears: win against swords
Knife: im about to end this mans whole career
you should put a counter meter to show how many points each person has, it's hard to see exactly when contact was made and when it was parried last second. i still enjoyed the video through
Damn Schola you are good.
The Bowie vs Spear shows how careful you are, those dodges even through you failed some you tried to force it. You are a Rogue.
i reaaally love you videos...you really love this...THANKS A LOT BRO FOR REAL!! saludos from Chile southamerican style
Bravo comrades bravo! that was great,more stuff like that on this channel would be much appreciated
Sweet Fighting :))
Brandon Sanderson sent me here. Awesome channel! Subscribed.
Awesome video, Matt. Cool to see the different match-ups and applications. Dug the Tchaikovsky in the background too.
Richard Harrow which of tchaikovsky's works was this one
elgostine It's the opening for the 1812 Overture.
This was fun, hopefully you do more of these!
I'm actually more surprised about how little the advantage of the weapon counts against skill and experience... Matt and the one guy with the backsword were clearly superior fighters compared to their opponents, but I'd have assumed the range of the spear would even it out more.
Be grateful.
Something I've noticed with 2 vs 1 sparring is that usually it seems like the team of two is less aware than the team of one. It's almost as if people subconsciously let their guard down more when they have teammates, because they don't feel like the fight is riding on their actions alone. I suppose it also allows a sort of "feint" in the sense that someone might pretend to not be paying attention to a second attacker, and then suddenly strike at them.
Just a theory. But it definitely seems like practicing to fight as a group against a single opponent is an important part of training, despite the fact that it could appear simple at first glance.
Nice vid mate! Enjoyed the demo :)
One of the bowie moves where the knife man just dodge the spear and let it pass near his right shoulder is just marvellous.
Excellent job everyone, but particular praise for the knife man. Good job of breaking through the guard and taking control! So many people don't have the intestinal fortitude and timing to do that.
Great choice of background music. It shows remarkably good taste and is quite humourous when paired with the subject of the film :)
Every time I see videos like these my first thought is "Why couldn't fencing be as cool as this?".
This video more than anything else SG has done (and you do good videos!) has convinced me that HEMA needs to be a part of my life. Now to find a club in Tokyo...
As a professional orchestra musician (who's also interested in HEMA), I find it great when you use some nice ol' Tchaikovsky (1812 Ouverture, correct?) as background music. Small request, though, could you write the name of the piece/composer in the description in future videos? Unless I somehow missed the "credit" during the video? Anyway, thanks for the awesome videos! Big fan.
This reminds me of a convention I had gone to years ago, in which one of the panels included amateur boffing. A group of 20 or so from the crowd who payed a small fee were entered int a tournament and offered padded practice swords to compete with; but one rather cheeky individual entered the tournament with a 6 1/2 foot long spear that he had crafted himself.
Being that everybody competing (myself included) were complete amateurs, nobody stood any sort of a chance against him. It'd be all of three seconds in the ring and he'd simply stick you in the side before you could close the gap. It felt particularly unfair!
I suppose in hindsight, it was something like bringing a gun to a knife fight.
Amazing video!
The knife guy is my favourite! :D
I really did like the "respawning" that they did during the 2-v-1 section. Some of the pairs seemed to work better together than others. And as you have said before, I think, context, context, context
1812 overture is great. Great video.
that knife work was great! i'd like to see some knife vs longsword
+devonmac95 I think knife would be in even more trouble there. Generally, knives are much better at parrying thrusts than cuts and the longsworder still has more than enough of a reach advantage.
Robert R
oh of course it would, but it would be cool to watch still, see if mind games, skill and speed can overcome the advantage of the longsword.
+devonmac95 No, we did dozend of fights, even a 10cm shorter blade means dying most of the time. Knive vs Longsword would be a >5 % chance of surviving.
And sometimes we do some silly stuff like Katana vs 2meter Bidenhänder haha.
But yes, it would be funny to watch.
Love that Scooby Doo chase scene run with the bowie knife.
Spear man: wounded; Sword man: dead
Great video. What length is this spear approximately?
Good video, Matt! There's little HEMA spear-fighting on CZcams, but this video sets a good example :-)
May I ask you, how long and thick was the spear? I find that those which are even slightly longer and heavier change the fight dynamics dramatically, usually in favour of the spear-fighter (especially against multiple opponents) - up to a certain point when they become only useful in battle formations, of course.
Besides, did you allow for strikes with the spear-head as well? I'm quite sure you know all about the devastating power of a heavy impact with a sharp and pointy pole-head, so I'm just curious why there were none in the video.
Hexates We didn't use strikes with these spears because we are simulating a typical small spearhead, which is essentially a short spike. It doesn't really do any more damage than hitting something with just the stick - it doesn't even weigh anything notable. In any case, generally if you're hitting with such a spear it's because you've lost the line to thrust and so that swordsman is just about to chop or thrust you - in that moment it's more wise to try and gain distance or otherwise defend, rather than trying to hit them with a blow that will not stop them.
Excellent demo there, goes to show never bring a knife to an unarmored spear fight, a good spearman will win almost every time. Given they were unexperienced they did a good job. Well done all involved
Love how you put music over the intro emblem! You should try to do it more often, it's rather weird to see just the emblem with no audio at the start of a video.
This is awesome!
love the music!
Thanks for sharing video,had fun watching.
One question,the guy with knife is he fencer since youth or reflexes came with experience?(i ask because i heard usually when someone fencing they study it while still young to develop reflexes and technique,correct me if im wrong)
Could you please do a video about Dagger vs Dagger footwork, and/or weapons footwork in general (could only find some on broadsword among the videos)? How much of for example todays FMA (Arnis/Kali/Eskrima) triangle footwork is actually valid, and how much of Musashi's old saying of "having no footwork as footwork" is maybe more accurate?
One thing I personally don't really like about these sparring videos is that often the actions are really fast and it's hard to understand what's going on. It would be amazing if you could do like a commentary of the fight, maybe showing the action in slow motion and explaining moves, parries etc.. It will be much more interesting! Of course this is just my opinion. I love this channel, I check it every day :-D
Cheers
The Bowie Knife Guy is the best! Ha ha ha! =D
loved the music
that's great! and that tom and jerryish music too! :D
Interesting that the knife fared the best. The guy may have had superior skills and tactics but I think there is something inherent about the weapon too. It makes you give up on any kind of attack apart from one where you can move past the head of the spear, possibly taking control of the shaft with your free hand, and then close in. With the sword they kept trying for sword strikes from afar and kept getting caught by the spear while lunging. But due to the sheer range disparity, the knife forces you into pure dodge mode until you can somehow step over the spear or otherwise get around it. And dodging is certainly possible since the spear's points of attack are fairly limited since it can't cut or slash from the sides. Obviously a spear would probably still most often defeat a bowie knife, but it's an interesting exercise in psychology. You could adopt the same strategy with a sword but it's less instinctual. But now take the scenario of sword vs knife and that strategy doesn't work anymore for the knife at all. The sword would dominate since dodging would become much harder for the knife wielder. Almost like rock paper scissors. Spear beats sword. Knife beats spear. Sword beats knife.
It was quite educative, specially due to the various levels of experience against spears. I would have liked to see what kind of approach they would have come up with if it was more than one spear, as that should prove quite more difficult to approach. But I guess you need more spears for that.
I would like to see a video about spears vs armored opponents. I've never really seen it in the movies and im unsure how would it look like. :)
I'm a little surprised that only the knife wielding fighter actually tried to grab the spear and just turn it into a clinch. of course, with a knife one does not have to many options, but it seems reasonable to do the same when using a sword. Good Video, Thanks!
OMG is this a kitchen beside your training area? Thats cool!
mmmh 1812 ouverture. nice :)
Cool sparring too.
Three quick observations and questions based on them:
One:. Would the confined space exercise not be better performed with the spear in a corner rather than in centre room against a wall?
Two: Since spears are a battlefield weapon, would it not also be useful to try two spear wielders side by side or back to back to simulate having comrades in a skirmish or battle?
Third and final: one skill taught in modern self defense classes to engage multiple opponents is stacking, or moving to try and keep your opponents single file relative to you. from the previous post I understand some of these students lack spear experience, but is a historical equivalent of "stacking" discussed at all in fencing manuals you've come across?
scholagladiatoria what materials do you guys use to construct your spears? My club has been trying a few things out but cant find a safe version to use.
I think in your quarterstaff vs sword video, you mentioned that a single man with a staff fended off three men with swords (rapiers I think being specific). I'd like to see your group try something similar, if at all possible.
The song is the 1812 overture by tchaikovsky for anyone wondering
Do you think the best weapon for a LOTR Ranger would be an ax, a mace, a spear, or a sword? As far as a ranged weapon would a long bow, re-curved short bow, or a crossbow serve him best? Would you use a shield in that situation? What type of armor would be best? I would assume the ranger would be on patrol. Carrying his own kit. Fighting as an individual or small party vs individuals or multiple opponents. Thank you for your time. TJ
In LotR it wouldn't matter. As long as the writer likes you, you can be armed with a butter knife, and still win consistently.
Nick, funny but I don't think the readers and fan base would find that plausible. I would personally chose a spear and a strong re-curved (Mongol type) bow. Hands free for other things than holding a shield all the time.
Knife dude is a beast!
The dagger vs spear fights were quite interesting. It really exposes the disadvantage of having a pointy bit at the end of a stick; the pointy bit is the only really threatening part if you're dedicated to jabbing. Soon as it's grabbed, the spearman loses all ability to fight back, and grabbing a spear isn't all that difficult. If you can parry a punch, you can grab a spear. Of course, give a staff fighter a pointy bit, and it becomes a whole different ball game.
Matt showed us that a knife can defeat a spear, as long as you have good reflexes and a good sprint.
Now, now I know context plays its part here as always. But might it be advisable for a spear wielder to let go of his weapon once the opponent with a shorter weapon successfully closes, gets past the point and grabs the shaft? I mean the spear shaft, of course. At that close range having a longer weapon is hardly advantageous, better of trying to control the weapon arm of the opponent methinks? Just curious is all. Great video Matt, as always.^^
Lord Leovuld Yes, counter-grappling is a fair option for the spearman if the spear is becoming a hindrance at close range.
Great stuff :)
Out of interest, what are you using for the spear? (Shaft and tip)
I've been thinking of dong some spear stuff with my lads and am looking at options for relatively safe weapons...
No to go and listen to the 1812 again...
Hugh Kerrigan A rattan pole with a little bit of insulation foam gaffer taped to the end. I have considered removing the foam when we are using steel fencing gear, but people have begged me not to, because despite these being rattan (which absorb a lot more force than ash) they can still hit very hard, especially to the head or chest.
would like to see this video again when the people get more experienced in spear vs sword fighting
Matt is too savage for his opponents it doesnt count 😊
The knife did surprisingly well.
This looks like so much fun were can I do this I live in Tucson az
Well you're a jerk
I found dagger vs spear fight quite entertaining :D
I noticed in many spear videos, the spear users (me included) tend to move back and forth a lot similar to the spear thrust movement. Is this on purpose ? won't moving to the sides help in any way?
I'd also like to ask if the way wushu use their spears is of any use (using the blunt back side as a staff and similar) when those without the spear come any close?
I think european spear style is more tended to back and forth thrust, and eastern is more to the empty side (left or right)
Very cool stuff! Since spear generally isn't used for dueling and is more of a battlefield weapon, would it have been more or less beneficial for the spearman if he'd had a shield? He'd lose some reach, but gain better defense. Wouldn't this, overall, be better?
Bruhmm2112 We find that spear two-handed is roughly equal to spear and shield. When you use the spear one-handed it becomes much slower at moving from one place to another - you don't have the leverage of two arms anymore.
Love "1812 Overture"!
it seems to me that all hema is very linear. is there a rationale for this?
which equipment is using?
If someone were going to jab the spear in, wouldn't it be ideal to try and pull it in towards you when you anticipate a jab and hopefully bring in it's wielder, or is that harder than it seems?
1:50 I love the guy on the right's outfit! Now if only he was wearing long black pants, the outfit would be perfect.
Add some fritction tape on the rawlings. It comes off in hot water when you want to replace it and it makes edge mechanics a lot more realistic
Matt going all Jason Voorhees on the spearman. Haha
Neat. Do you guys ever spar with rules that might simulate armor? Blows that glance off and all that?
Andrew Beechler A few of us have armour - if we intend to do armoured fighting then we wear armour, as you move very differently in armour.
Awesome! Any chance of videos of that in the future?
scholagladiatoria Matt, would you make a video on this topic sometime? (change of movements whilst wearing armour)
I was pleasantly surprised how well the bowie did
one thing I noticed is that a lot of the people that fought with the spear would release the spear with their lead hand when making thrusts, which lead to them losing control of the weapon and often nearly resulted in a strike against them. What they should have been doing is what the dude that was fighting 2v1 was doing and sliding the weapon through their lead hand, that way they don't lose control and as the enemy closes they can easily draw the weapon back to shorten it and make it easier to defend in close range.
And the knife did it! WOOOOO
Thought that there was absolutely no way the knife fighter was going to be able to block any attacks, but then he does just that. Then I see it's Matt. Well that makes sense then :P
The Bowie guy was quite good!
What wouldn't one give to be able to time transport a seasoned foot solider from centuries back and get a few tips ;)
That does look like a relatively short spear to me, is its length based upon the length of any specific type of historical spear?
Also, is using the shaft as a striking weapon at close range a viable technique?
Staun Shay it's about 8ft so pretty similar to a viking or spartan shield
Interesting to see just how quick the spear is for changing direction of attack, especially swapping between attackers. It seemed like quite a few of the hits were because people just didn't expect the spear to be able to do a 90 degree change of attack so fast. He was fending off one guy then suddenly swapped to the other, got a hit and then immediately back to the first before they could take advantage.
Valkanna .Nublet Yes, this is what I've been trying to explain with words in my previous videos, but demonstration hopefully makes it more explicit. The spear is simply awesome.
Next time someone thinks I'm weird for liking spears I'll show them this video ;)
Feints a plenty here eh? Nice session.
Awesome
awesome spear
i dont know why but the man with the knife reaching out to grab the other guys spear is funny to me
This really makes me want to try out my fancy ballet skills in armed combat^^, coupe jete repost to the face!